Quirk
by Fallen Saint
Summary: Sappy, angsty little fic, shounen-ai. Really don't know how to explain, other than: Duo's observations


1+2+1, sap, angst, author's blatant love for a certain word and fascination with a certain type of weather.  
Don't own the bishies, but we love to play..  
  
  
Quirk  
  
  
Lazy rivulets of water cascaded down the window, mingling together in complete solitude. The rain continued to pour and add more streams to the fray. It was a lonely rain. Not the kind that, when it occurs, is simply noted as the rest of the day passes on. It was the kind that absorbed the whole day and left no other option than to simply sit and stare. And that is exactly what Duo Maxwell was doing.  
  
Just observing was what the braided youth found himself doing most. Yes, he was always known to join in on anything that was happening, but everyone skimmed over the fact that he always surveyed the situation beforehand. He noted quirks in his fellow pilots. Like how Quatre always stirred his coffee ten times exactly before drinking it. Or how Trowa scrunched his nose up slightly whenever he read something particularly interesting. Wufei seemed to enjoy cutting up every morsel of food before eating, slicing each bit into equal mini portions. And then there was Heero. Duo took notice of Heero's quirks faster and with more interest than in any of the other pilots. Maybe it was because the stoic pilot seemed perfectly rigid without a quirk to his name. Or maybe it was because over the last couple of months Duo developed a fascination with the guy. There was just something about Heero that made him very appealing.   
  
Duo watched a droplet duke it out with another before they both returned to their solitary paths. Spending time with the Wing pilot lately had been more difficult than in the past. It was getting harder and harder to cover up the feelings he had for the boy, which in turn left him quiet and despondent. As the days passed he felt himself sink deeper into a metal numbness, finding little joy in his usual pranks. He eventually forfeited them and stuck to simple day to day activities. So he continued to watch the rain, and think about how Heero always tied his right shoelace before the left, how he always put the towels away with the neat outer edge facing forward.  
  
The sixth day of Heero and Duo's stay together for the sake of a mission dawned as dreary and cold as the previous five. Duo could think of nothing better to do than just stay under his warm, safe quilt all day and just not think. However he knew that no matter how hard he tried, his thoughts would always turn to Heero. Besides, if he wasn't up by a decent hour Heero would surely resent him for the day, as usual. Duo skulked into the bathroom to prepare for the day.  
  
He entered the kitchen to find Heero reading the paper, unconsciously biting his lower lip now and then, as he always did while reading the latest news.  
  
"You can go back to bed if you'd like, we're not going to do anything today," he stated to his work partner, eyes never leaving the newsprint.  
  
"That's ok, I'm already set for the day," Duo responded, his nonchalant attitude overriding his previous thinking. He grabbed a donut out of a box on the counter and sat near the window again, watching.   
  
"You always stare out the window," remarked Heero, still reading the paper as if he could see right past the pages to Duo.  
  
"I'm surprised you noticed." Shinigami's pilot felt a sudden interest in Heero's words.  
  
"Well it's not hard to, you do it so much."  
  
"Ah." He nibbled on his breakfast and dismissed a flicker of hope. After all, Heero was only stating the obvious.  
  
"Why do you?"   
  
Duo paused at the question. The combination of the words and Heero's innocent tone took him aback. He laid his donut on the windowsill and evaded the inquiry. "You know what Heero? Everyone has their quirks. There's always certain little things that someone does that especially makes them like no other."  
  
"I see." Heero apparently felt that this was important enough for him to put down the newspaper.   
  
"Even you have them Heero." Duo literally wanted to bite his tongue after saying that. Nothing like opening up a can or worms.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah. You always close the windows at night, no matter how hot it gets."  
  
"That's one."  
  
"And you always have to have a pad and pen near the vid screen. I've seen you take time out of whatever you're doing to go locate them if they aren't where they should be."  
  
"Two."  
  
"You always crack your back against the chair before every meal."  
  
"Three. What do you do, stare at me all day?"  
  
Duo felt his cheeks flush, and then turn crimson. He had never felt so embarrassed in his life. He calmly stood and headed to his room, trying to preserve what was left of his pride along the way. "I...I guess I'm just observant."   
  
He fell down to his unmade bed, facing the window. He hated it. How Heero encouraged him along and then made him feel like a fool. So he stared at the window and tried to bury himself into the covers. The rain was really coming down now, sending a great many more rivulets into collisions with each other, all of them separating at the end. Except for one. Somehow the wind and additional forces didn't part them, and they trickled down together until it disappeared.   
  
"You never make your bed. Even when you change the sheets, you just lie the news ones in a twisted heap on the mattress. Considering how neat the rest of your room remains, I assume you can't sleep in a made bed."  
  
Duo looked over his shoulder to see Heero leaning against the doorframe. He watched as his roommate walked over to the edge of the bed, gingerly sitting on its edge. He looked away, tears of shame and real upset trickling down his face. "You know Heero," Duo sobbed softly, "Maybe it's just a quirk of mine, but I hate feeling so empty. I hate lying on a bed that I share with no one else. I really don't enjoy looking out at the rain, day after day. But what gets me the most is that the person I care for the most...he confuses me so much."  
  
He felt a comforting hand stroke his back. "I wasn't angry Duo. I was just wondering of you noticed me the way I notice you. It came out a little too harsh." Duo hid his face in the sheets. "You always play with the end of your braid when you're concentrating really hard. You always throw a strand of spaghetti against the wall when you think no one's looking to see if it's really done..." He laid stretched out on the bed next to Duo, his hand never leaving the boy's back. "You never use shampoo, you always use the lather from a bar of soap. I...I can smell it float of your hair whenever you walk by.." Duo lifted his head, eyes wide. "But maybe that's not a quirk...," whispered Heero. He carefully brushed Duo's bangs back.  
  
Duo gulped when Heero's close proximity registered in his mind. The person he admired and adored the most was only inches away, professing feelings identical to his own. He tentatively pressed his lips against Heero's, feeling the silky warmth. He pulled back and looked Heero in the eye.   
  
"We're sharing your bed, Duo. You're not looking out the window. And I certainly hope any confusion is now cleared up."  
  
Duo grinned. "There goes my quirk."  
  
  



End file.
